There’s a new voice in the US energy debate, and he’s not exactly whispering. Kaes Van’t Hof, who took over as CEO of Diamondback Energy in May 2025, has been waging a surprisingly public campaign to defend the shale industry against accusations of price gouging, regulatory overreach, and general villainy.
His targets so far include Senator Bernie Sanders and podcaster Joe Rogan. Which is quite the range.
From the C-suite to the soapbox
Van’t Hof previously served as Diamondback’s President and CFO from February 2022 to February 2025 before stepping into the top job, succeeding Travis Stice.
Global supply disruptions tied to the Iran conflict have rattled oil markets, and Van’t Hof has responded by doing something unusual for an energy CEO: logging on. Through social media posts and interviews, he’s been pushing back on narratives that paint oil companies as profiteers exploiting geopolitical chaos. His exchanges with Sanders, who has long accused fossil fuel companies of gouging consumers, and Rogan, whose podcast reaches tens of millions, have given Diamondback an outsized media presence relative to its size.
